Hello Goodbye
by hat-and-goggles
Summary: Dick and Tim are sent to retrieve important information from Ra's al Ghul, but never counted on what else they would find.


**The residence of Ra's al Ghul**

 **February 5, 01.30 local time**

 **Team year 7**

"Seriously though, if Batman wants this information that badly, why doesn't he go get it himself?"

Dick couldn't help but sigh at his younger brother's complaint. "Because Ra's is expecting him to come, not us. Besides, you encrypted the tracking device's signal so well, only your tech can pick it up apparently and frankly, neither Batman nor I fit in that suit of yours."

"Fair enough." Tim admitted. He'd really dug his own grave this time. Suddenly, Dick dragged him into a presumably empty room by the cape. Now that he'd thought about it, he had heard footsteps in the hallway.

Dick laid his ear against the door to listen in on the guards. Nothing was said, and they left only a few seconds later. Good. They could finally catch a breather- That was until Tim backed up against him.

"Nightwing," he whispered, "someone's in here..."

Dick whipped his head around to find a young man sitting in a chair. He was facing away from them and seemed completely unresponsive. In any other situation, anyone in this place would have them pinned the wall five minutes ago. Dick couldn't help himself but to inch closer to the young man in the chair, going around to face the young man who didn't even respond as he did that. He crouched down to get a better look at him.

Tim felt something was wrong. Something had Dick speechless, and God knows that doesn't happen very often. Tim could clearly read in his face that the man was shocked, sad, maybe even a little scared. He walked around to get a better look. Despite the blank stare and look on an otherwise expressive face, the young man in the chair looked familiar. He'd seen pictures of him, though not many had remained out in the open in the manor. He'd seen him as a memorial at the old Young Justice headquarters, and Tim felt his heart sink. "This is him, isn't he?" He asked, placing a hand on Dick's shoulder, his voice barely above a whisper. "This is Jason, right?"

Dick nodded silently.

"We have to call this in, Batman has to know."

The older man nodded. "Just... not right now. We need to keep moving, or we'll be caught." Dick said, getting up and checking the hallway behind the door. "Come on, the coast is clear."

 **Al Ghul Island, Rainforest**

 **February 5, 03.00 local time**

 **Team year 7**

All they had to do from here was run. Run and make it to the bat plane before anyone could get to them. Once there, they would report to Batman, and tell him about Jason's state of, well, being. It wasn't much more than that, Tim thought. However, that thought was quickly abandoned, as he swore he heard someone closing in on them. Dick must have heard it as well, as the two of them were running faster than they had been before.

"Jesus Christ, wonderboy, slow down for half a second!"

That stopped Dick dead in his tracks, and Tim wasn't too far behind. He turned around slowly, where he saw Jason. Somehow walking, _running_ even, and talking, shouting, calling Dick names. It was the complete opposite of what they had seen before. Upon closer inspection, as Jason made it to the two of them, Tim noted that he was soaking wet, the green liquid that dripped from his hair still glowing ever so slightly. ' _That's how._ '

"I was hoping you guys would still be here. Talia might have let me go, but that wouldn't make getting off this damn island any easier."

It took a while for Dick to say something, as though he was looking for a way to not sound like a complete ass while asking ' _How come you're not brain dead anymore?_ ' "Little Wing, how are you even up like this? No offense, but we saw you literally an hour and a half ago and you looked like you had the average brain activity of a potato."

"Wow, that was a little below the belt," Jason mocked, he couldn't really be angry about Dick's statement because he knew he was right, and also because he was just plain happy to be up and about again. Something he never expected to be. "but really, nothing a dip in a Lazarus Pit can't fix."

The three of them got into the plane together. They had a long flight ahead, which was mostly filled with Dick and Tim trying to get Jason up to speed about the goings on in Gotham and the rest of the world. However, there was one subject they constantly avoided. Well, that was until they were almost back. Dick was getting the plane ready to land in the bat cave when Jason spoke up.

"There's one thing that bothers me though," Jason said, not looking either of them in the eye, as though he was thinking hard on what he would say next. "Before Talia pushed me out she told me "You remain unavenged"," Jason could see the two of them tense instantly, and the color draining from Tim's face as well. The two exchanged knowing glances, and Jason didn't have to be the world's greatest detective to know what was going on. "Mind telling me what all that was about?"

Dick let out a deep sigh, ' _Might as well tell the truth._ ' Dick guessed. "Batman didn't catch the Joker until a week after you died. He punched the man within an inch of his life, I... I had never seen Batman as angry as he was that day. It was scary. Nevertheless, I somehow got him to stop. I decided to haul the Joker off to Arkham myself, for Batman's sake."

"So you mean to say he is still walking on this earth today? God damn it, Dick!" Jason saw his replacement back up a bit, but he wasn't about to hold back. "How many more has he killed since I died? How many more lives has he ruined?" he shouted at the man piloting the vehicle that was not too far above the landing pad in the bat cave.

"Three hundred and eighty-six. the other one is a little more difficult to peg down. But we've been busting our butts getting him back to Arkham every time he-"

"You should have fucking killed him!" _That_ outburst made his replacement jump. Good. Maybe that would get his point across. "Grayson, when I was laying in that rubble with two collapsed lungs and choking on my own blood, I realized Bruce was never going to make it in time to save me. I forgave him for that, I didn't mind that I was going to die, I just hoped... I hoped he would put an end to the Joker so nobody else would have to suffer at his hands anymore, and you up and tell me there have been almost four hundred people in the four years I've been gone? Did my death mean that little to you? For fuck's sake."

"Jason, that's not it at all! We couldn't just go around and-" His words fell on deaf ears. As soon as the hood of the bat plane opened, Jason hopped out of it, stalking towards one of the motorcycles that somehow, as far as Dick knew, was in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras.

"That's not what I asked for! I'm not asking for Scarecrow, or Riddler, or Dent. Just him." Jason spat that last word out with a bitterness Dick had never even heard in his voice. Not even when they'd talked about his father. Jason snatched the helmet off the motorcycle's saddle and drove off into what was left of the night.

Tim walked up to Dick, standing at his side while watching Jason ride away. "What do we do now?" he asked, looking up at Dick.

"Now, we let him go. He just needs to blow off some steam. He'll be back."

* * *

If you want to know what happens next, I highly recommend reading Under the Hood (2005), watching Under the Red Hood (2010), or playing Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).


End file.
